10 takeaways as Celtics bounce back with smooth, 122-100, win over Bulls
Two nights after losing badly to the Rockets, the Celtics defeated the Bulls 122-100 on Wednesday at TD Garden, leaving no room for doubt.
With 10 of 18 field goals, 8 of 14 3-pointers, and 6 of 6 foul shots, Kristaps Porzingis scored a scorching 34 points. He was the best player on the floo and finished plus-22 with 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.
The Celtics shot 40.9 percent from 3-point range and recorded 32 assists, led by Jaylen Brown’s 28 points, Derrick White’s 22, and Jayson Tatum’s 16.
These ten takeaways
Early on, Kristaps Porzingis set the tone.
Boston took an early nine-point lead thanks to 13 of the Celtics’ first 15 points from Porzingis. He added a jumper and free throws, and he buried three 3-pointers, including a casual 33-footer.
He is a constant threat, but occasionally he goes above and beyond. Over the past ten games, Porzingis has averaged 9.8 points in the first quarter.
He finished with 15 points in the first quarter and assisted the Celtics in gaining a 26-23 lead through one, so it was quite an impressive performance.
In the second quarter, the Celtics were on fire.
Porzingis continued his wild run in the second quarter, scoring 11 more points on 8 of 11 shooting to finish the half with 26 points, his highest half total as a Celtic.
Boston led 67-51 at the half, and he was 4 of 4 from the line and 6 of 8 from three.
The Celtics scored 41 points in the quarter, shooting 6 for 12 from three-point range and 15 for 23 (65.2 percent) from the field.
They performed as best they could, making the game appear relatively simple.
There was no better sidekick than Jaylen Brown.
The majority of Brown’s damage came from inside the arc because Porzingis was locked in from the outside.
Brown routinely finished in traffic, stopped on a dime, and outdistanced opponents off the dribble.
Brown was a superb passer as well, recording six assists, including this clever dime to Tatum.
Derrick White has established a cadence.
Sorry, Celtics supporters, but this was the first time since the Rockets game on January 3 that White had shot 50% or better on ten or more shots.
He found a natural rhythm in the offensive flow and let the game come to him. White occasionally rushes his shots, but on Wednesday night he refrained from doing so.
For the Celtics, White is truly the X-factor. They frequently go to a new level when he’s cooking.
The way Payton Pritchard died was spot on.
As he should, Pritchard is highly praised for his goals, but he is also a superb passer and playmaker. He was plus-16 at the half and finished the first half with seven assists.
Like the best players in the league, he has a knack for giving the game what it needs.
The Celtics achieved the magical 30-plus assist mark as a team.
They didn’t underestimate their rival.
At times this season, the Celtics have had the bad habit of playing below the caliber of their opponents.
They defeated a weak Bulls team without Zach LaVine and Torrey Craig on Wednesday night, so they didn’t have that kind of issue.
In games like this, it’s usually more mental than physical, so the Celtics deserve praise for avoiding the trap.
Joe Mazzulla sat down very deeply.
Coach Joe Mazzulla used Drew Peterson and Jaden Springer to help fill the void after Al Horford and Sam Hauser were sidelined. They played nine minutes in the first quarter.
With a corner three on one end and a steal on the other, Springer kept up his impressive play.
The Celtics stand to gain from either he keeps proving himself as a reliable player or he keeps increasing his trade value.
Peterson helped spread the floor and was steady, but he didn’t do anything particularly noteworthy.
They did a good job defending Nikola Vucevic.
When playing against the Celtics, Nikola Vucevic always seems to perform well. In this one, they prevented him from getting comfortable and held him to six points on three of nine shots.
Conversely, he found it difficult to remain loyal to Porzingis.
The Bulls only made 30.6 percent of their 3-point attempts and 40.2 percent of their field goals overall.
The Celtics’ defensive play was strong for the majority of the game, even though their close-outs and rotations could still be improved in spurts.
Mazzulla arrived late to the Celtics’ game.
Mazzulla still had Pritchard, White, Brown, Tatum, and Porzingis out there with three minutes remaining and the Celtics ahead 21 (Holiday didn’t play much in the second half, so something to watch there).
Maybe it was a way of telling his players that they had to do well in the game. You can’t blame him if he simply didn’t believe it was over. In any case, it was interesting.
They should have won, but it was still a significant victory.
On paper, the Celtics should have won this game, but they’ve demonstrated this season that paper doesn’t really matter.
They handled their business, and on Friday they will have the opportunity to do the same against the Pelicans.
This victory doesn’t necessarily indicate that they’ve made progress, but if they can build on it, it might be the beginning of something greater.
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